Articles Web Series Gemini Division
| Gemini Division |
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| Written by CapricornOne |
| Sunday, 17 August 2008 17:58 |
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This is the setting for the new science fiction web series, Gemini Division, starring Rosario Dawson, Justin Hartley and a slew of faces you will immediately recognize (if not by name), beginning online-only Monday, August 18th, 2008. Huh? What is a "web series?" That was my first question, as I was oblivious to this emerging media concept up until about a week ago. I had been researching a film on SciFi Channel website, and an ad caught my eye ... Rosario Dawson in a new scifi series (she is sooo freakin' cool ... and a hottie to boot)??? Cool, I gotta check that out, cause it sure isn't on my list of new tv series!! (PLEASE NOTE: It was brought to my attention by Doug Heidland, that some of the background information to follow isn't accurate. Unfortunately, cross-referencing articles across the net, even from leading newspapers, has given even more mixed information. Yesterday, while preparing an article for an independent scifi release, I discovered another popular web series that airred from 2005-2006, California Heaven. With the exception of some minor tweaking, I will stand by my article, for now. But, for a more in-depth understanding of the background of this medium, I would recommend Doug Heidland's recent post, "Internet Series, then and Now" at Prime Time for Change.) What I found was a new media built specially for the internet. A Web Series consists of a complete set of daily video "webisodes," typically just a few minutes in length, that are viewed only on the net. While an attempt was made in 1997 for a TV tie-in web series, Homicide: Second Shift, it became too expensive to continue and was cancelled. Later, and by this time I should have known about this, Battlestar Galactica: The Resistance (bridging the gap between seasons 2 and 3) web series paved the way for the new medium. But, it wasn't until last year, when founding partner of Electric Farm Entertainment, Brent Friedman, launched the company's first mega online series, Afterworld, showing the true potential of the web series concept: Afterworld Afterworld Fansite: Afterworld Discussion: While Afterworld was completely animated, EFE's second web series, Gemini Division, stars real actors working entirely in front of a green screen. Much like 300 and Sky Captain and The World of Tomorrow, and even Sin City, to a lesser degree. Even some of the props are green screened. EFE's next project will continue to take advantage of this process with a horror comedy series, Woke Up Dead. Very exciting stuff. Gemini Division follows New York City cop, Anna Diaz, as she discovers something is not quite right about her fiance, Nick, during a vacation in Paris. Set "five minutes into the future," she finds herself in the middle of a global conspiracy. Genetically engineered "sims," soldiers built for the Iraqi war, have now gone rogue and formed their own terrorist cell. A mysterious agency has been formed to track em down, Gemini Division. I could go on, and more of the plot has already been released, but I want to offer YOU the option of watching this unique experience fresh ... or dig as deep as you please into the "rabbit hole":
... more of this amazing cast, later! While writing (and re-writing) this article for the website, I received an amazing invitation to watch a sneak peek of the first two episodes, followed by a conference call with the show's creator, Brent Friedman. I didn't have much time to wrap my head around it all, as I got the e-mail just moments before the event and my heart went into overdrive. Though I didn't have a single question in mind to ask Mr. Friedman, I was able to summon the nerve to throw out a few questions of my own. Some of my colleagues (and very cool new friends) have written about this Q&A with Brent, in far more depth than I can here: From Doug Heidland, at the Gemini Division Official Fansite: http://www.geminidivisionfiles.com But, I will add a couple of things I took from watching the two episodes and the conversation: While I thought the show felt very much like the television series, Dark Skies (making a note to see if it's been released on DVD), another creation of Mr. Friedman's ... Brent spoke about two other of his favorite films that had inspired him, Bladerunner (woohoo, me too ... I got the new Collector's Edition, last year!), and Le Femme Nikita ( if you haven't seen the film, or TV series spin-off, you might recall the American film adaptation, Point of No Return, with Bridget Fonda). He explained that he liked the idea of there being no good versus evil, no black and white, no absolutes. The characters would evolve and both sides of human nature would come out, depending on a given situation. And expanding on the idea of how an Artificial Intelligence could develop it's own sense of "humanity." How would that happen, and what does it say about our own evolution? As he spoke, you could feel his passion for this show, and conspiracies ... stories that were like an onion, "peeling back the layers." The first thing you will notice, and it's very engaging, is that it begins through the eyes of someone they are talking to through some sort of PDA. Is it YOU the viewer, being thrust into the series? Or, is it a mystery character that will be later revealed in the series? LOL, as much as some of us tried to nudge Brent into giving away some spoilers, he'd just laugh and steer us back into behaving ourselves. This was a lot fun all of us, and he was very down-to-earth. I don't think my heart could take much more from this kind of rare experience, but sure look forward to another one, if given a chance (hmmm, maybe Woke Up Dead?). As of this writing, the series will air a new episode each weekday, some will be the series, itself ... others will be additional content ... and others still, will take the viewer deeper into the story with an evolving ARG (Artificial Reality Game), that will be a mix of online and mobile content. The series has completed all 50 webisodes, with only some additional content in post-production, video remixes, and graphic novel style content for mobile phones and PDA, to wrap up. There is a lot more to look forward to, as there is nothing that really compares to what is being done here. Obviously, this is my latest obsession, and hope it will be yours to ... so feel free to join us at the GD official fansite and Gemini Division NBC boards to discuss this very cool thriller: |
| Last Updated on Sunday, 12 October 2008 15:14 |